(Did
I just really quote two Taylor Swift songs within a two week period in this
blog? Wowzers.)

But,
then again, Taylor Swift seems to be the queen of writing songs about
ages. I'm actively waiting for her next
dance hit "Thirty-Three And A Third Forever".

Until
then, we'll settle for twenty-two. The year that I decided that one of the best ways to earn some
respect from the community - as well as bulking up my resume for job searching
- was volunteer work and community service.

And
why not? Volunteer work is certainly
something that a lot of people take pride in.
Sometime after I graduated high school, it became a requirement that all
high school students have to complete 40 hours of community service before they
are allowed to receive their diplomas, and looking back on it, I wish they had
implemented this while I was still in school.
As critical as I am of the Ontario education system, this was one of the
things that they got right, as far as I'm concerned.

And,
at 22, I began doing some volunteer work at a place that I thought that I would
never set foot in. Ever. But we'll get to that a little bit later.

In
the meantime, let's have a look at what was big in pop culture during the week
of my 22nd birthday, shall we?

#1 SONG THE WEEK OF 5/18/2003

"Get Busy" - SEAN PAUL

Confession
time. I actually have this listed as
one of my guilty pleasure songs. I'm
not usually a fan of rap music, but when you mix it with a little bit of
Jamaican reggae flair, I find it quite awesome. It's probably why I also liked Bob Marley, Inner Circle, and Maxi
Priest growing up.

#1 AT THE BOX OFFICE THE WEEK OF 5/18/2003

"The Matrix: Reloaded"

Pass. I didn't even like the first one. Nothing against Keanu Reeves or Laurence
Fishburne - I just wasn't all that attracted to the plot line. The special effects weren't bad though, I'll
give them that.

#1 TELEVISION SHOW FOR THE 2003/2004 SEASON
"American Idol"

Sigh...get
used to this one, because you'll likely see this one pop up in the next few
entries. This was the year that Ruben
Studdard won, and the year that millions of Clay Aiken fans cried foul,
claiming that he should have won instead.
In the end...really, what happened to both of them? Anyone?

Now,
22 was a rather interesting year. It
was the year that I should have graduated from university, but as we all know,
I left school early because I knew that it wasn't what I was meant to do. But, dare I say that leaving school and
coming back to my hometown was almost sort of a blessing in disguise.

Sure,
I was in debt up to my eyeballs and I didn't really have a set plan in
motion. But I did have a lot of things
going for me. For one, being home
allowed me to bond with my niece and three nephews, and I would like to think
that I have a close relationship with all four of them. Had I stayed in Ottawa, I may not have had
that happen. It certainly would have
been a lot different.

And,
really, coming back home was sort of a good thing because I really didn't know
anybody. My high school classmates were
all scattered around Canada and the United States, and knowing that I would
likely never see them again made it surprisingly easier for me to get my
bearings together. There were no more
negative influences around me, so I was more free to be myself. I guess in that sense, I took a little bit
of the confidence that I discovered in Ottawa back home with me and applied it
to life.

(Mind
you, it was still a fairly lonely life at 22.
That would eventually change - but it would take a little time for that
to happen.)

In
the meantime, it was suggested that I try my hand at volunteer work, and it was
my sister that floated the idea by me.
At the time, my nephew was starting kindergarten, and she thought that
if I at least went and volunteered at his school ten hours a week in the two kindergarten
classes, it would add some experience to my resume, and it might make him feel
more comfortable in class if he saw a familiar face.

And
here's the kicker. The very place where
my nephew attended kindergarten was my old elementary school! You know, the one that I hadn't set foot in
for eight whole years?

This
kind of made me nervous. Sure, my time
in elementary school wasn't quite as horrific as high school, but it wasn't all
rainbows and unicorns. Some of the kids
were cruel - and some of the teachers were even crueler. And of course, I had a bit of a reputation
of being a "problem child" because of my struggle to make friends, so
the last thing I needed was to have the faculty look at me with judging eyes.

So,
imagine my surprise when I started volunteering at the school and realizing
that with the exception of one teacher, everyone else was GONE! Seriously!
I was only gone for eight years, and the entire staff had been
completely replaced! It was so weird.

Then
again, most of the teachers that I had in school were over the age of
fifty. Most of them retired, and in the
case of a janitor and my old music teacher (the one I referenced in my year 13
memory), they sadly passed away.

But
this was also a good thing. Nobody knew
me at that school. Nobody knew of what
happened in that school while I was a student, and I was perfectly fine with
that. It felt like I was getting a
fresh new start with that school, and I breathed a sigh of relief over it.

There
were two kindergarten teachers at the school that I volunteered at. There was my nephew's teacher, Ms. Zaky, and
Mrs. Smith, the other kindergarten teacher.
Mrs. Smith was in room one (my old classroom), and Ms. Zaky was in room
two. Mrs. Smith taught two classes of
kids, while Ms. Zaky taught one. I
believe the schedule was Mrs. Smith's A class and Ms. Zaky's class were in
every Monday and Wednesday, and every other Friday. Mrs. Smith's B class was Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other
Friday.

And,
as far as which class I liked the best?
I can't deny it. I loved them
all.

Now,
you may think that being in a class filled with two dozen four and five year
olds would have been pure hell on earth, but for whatever reason, I loved every
minute of it. I loved reading stories
to them. I played puzzles with
them. I helped teach them how to write
their names. I even taught them my
special trick to make green by mixing blue and yellow together.

I
even remember the time that I volunteered to be one of the "parent"
chaperones for the kindergarten field trip to the apple orchard, even though I
wasn't anywhere close to being a parent.
And, yes...I did note that a couple of the parent volunteers looked at
me as if I had no right to be there!
Some parents could be jerky, I have to admit. But you know, one of the kids was my nephew, and Ms. Zaky assigned
him and another boy under my care, so it was great to know that the teachers
trusted me enough to watch over the kids.

And
guess what? None of the kids died under
my watch! We may have gotten a bit
distracted by a maze that looked like it was built with giant marshmallows, but
other than that, it was a really fun experience!

Really,
that whole volunteer experience was amazing because I felt like I was serving a
purpose. Sure, I wasn't getting paid
actual money for my services, but I was learning how to be more mature, more
responsible, and I definitely think that I made an impact on those kids.

And
do you know how I know this? Well, in
January 2004, I had gotten accepted into a job seeking program (where it was
sort of like a paid internship), and I had to leave my volunteer position for a
little while. It was really sad to say
goodbye to the kids, but I promised them that I would be back before the end of
the year to say goodbye to them.

And,
as it turned out, I did come back for the last two weeks of school - and to see
their little faces beam with excitement and have them know who I was...there's
no feeling like it.

You
know, I briefly thought about pursuing a career in early childhood education
after that volunteer stint. But
thinking about it, I don't know if it would have worked out. I don't like the politics of the education
system here in my province, and I am fairly mouthy and stubborn. I guess I'm one of those who would want to
teach for the children's sake, and not use them as bargaining chips. That's why my becoming a teacher would
probably have not worked out.

Though
at least I know that I am good with kids.
And while I'm not a parent yet...I know if it is in the cards, I'd
probably survive it.

2003
was a year in which I learned a lot about life through volunteer work. 2004 would be a year in which I learned a
lot about life through actual paid work - and it may explain why I have a bit
of an issue with the education system - at least when it comes to early
childhood education, anyway.